Tag Archives: Aquifer

Housing

RIEP Presentation: Affordable Housing Across The Islands

One of the 2025 RIEP Virtual Forum presentations was a panel discussion of how the affordable housing societies were faring on six rural islands. There were a lot of common themes running throughout their stories: difficulties obtaining funding through BC Housing, CMHC and other organizations whose requirements are drawn up for urban rather than rural areas; the cost of building on remote islands; relationships with regional districts and Islands Trust; and water issues. The moderator was Mike Hoebel from the  Galiano Affordable Living Initiative Society (GALI).

Mike Hoebel: “The lack of affordable housing is truly a crisis in our communities and housing policy was a major item for discussion back at the RIEP 2023 In-Person Forum Gabriola. Today we’re going to hear from a number of people about housing related initiatives underway in their communities.”

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Water

March 9 ICAN Water Security Team Update

On Saturday, March 9, a collaboration between the We Wai Kai Nation and the Water Security Team of Quadra Island Climate Action Network (Quadra ICAN) presented an update of their work over the past year. The presentation was entitled “Water Systems of Quadra Island: Preparing For our Future”. 

Their work is currently embodied in three major projects:

  • Well monitoring and aquifer mapping
  • Stream flow monitoring in salmon bearing streams
  • Wetland and watershed mapping
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Water

Joint We Wai Kai/ ICAN Team Monitoring Quadra Island Wells

Editor’s note: The well monitoring currently underway Quadra Island is a model of how this could be done on Cortes.

A joint We Wai Kai/ ICAN Water Security team has been monitoring Quadra Island wells for the past month as part of a much larger project to calculate the island’s water budget.   

“At the moment 13 wells are being monitored, and another three or four will be added from Cape Mudge. So there will probably be 17 deeper wells and  Eileen McKay, particularly, has been saying for a while that we need to add shallow wells.  We’ll be doing that hopefully this year,” explained Nick Sargent, a former professional hydrologist who is overseeing the well monitoring.

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Water

Studying The Water Budget For Quadra Island; a model for the future

ICAN’s water security team and the We Wai Kai First Nation have embarked upon an exploration of Quadra Island’s water systems.

While this is a Quadra study, everything they are doing is applicable to Cortes and every other British Columbian island where there is a sizeable population. They are offering a model of how we can prepare for the future.  

“The project started a number of years ago, really centered on the concerns of local people on Quadra about the nature of their water supply. People were really worried about what was going to happen with both climate change, whether it’s going to be getting hotter (particularly in the summers) and with development. Every new person that moves on to the island usually sinks a well. If they sink a well, they’re pulling quite a bit of water out of the aquifer. We wanted to know, would the aquifer actually meet our needs? Also, what needs does the environment have? And what will happen when things like climate change influences the availability of water,” explained Colin Chapman, who, together with his partner Claire Hemingway, is a key leader in this project. 

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Water

Merville water fight heads to court

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Editor’s note: In addition to water security becoming an important issue on both Cortes and Quadra Islands, Cortes Currents may have FM radio listeners in Merville. There are reports of drivers listening to 89.5M while driving the Island Highway (19A) north of Courtenay. Cortes Radio’s coverage map shows some of the areas surrounding Merville (Black Creek, pockets of Comox and Cumberland) within its listening area.

By Madeline Dunnett, The Discourse,  Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

A Merville man is asking the Supreme Court of B.C. to strike down the Comox Valley Regional District’s decision to classify bulk water sales as a permitted home business.

Bruce Gibbons, founder of Merville Water Guardians, filed the petition for judicial review in September. The review is scheduled to be heard in court in January 2024. 

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